I'm sorry; yes his questions was about ritual sorcery. I figured 1 success was not good enough to know and directed my character accordingly, but if it is let me know and I'll change it.

Ok, tomorrow I'll be posting up picking up the new mage.

Well, it's time for my annual (I say annual, because it seems like once a year I come to the realization that I'm not spending enough time on my games to justify any GM's attention or holding up things on my account... summer is always a busy time for me) withdrawal from the boards.

I hope to see you folks around. Keep on keepin' on. I'm not vanishing whole cloth, just cutting back my game committments.

Ok, here is the scan.
1) You have 1 hour till the meet.
2) It will take 30 minutes to get to the meet location
3) You have Jake's van and Spencer's Sedan
4) People: Spencer, Yavanna, Jake, Black Fist, Grayson (appearing as Spencer), Carter
5) The pickup will be a T-Bird. It will be coming in hot and leaving in a hurry. No time for delays or problems.
6) The Vory are on to you and have enlisted magical backup.
7) The location of the meet is Hell's Kitchen... Just happens to be in the Ass Hat's Turf. Don't ask why they're called that. They are some of the nastiest Orks and Trolls you never wanted to meet.
Security rating is Z for the pickup site (Is there something worse than Z? If so, this place is it)
9) The pickup site is a matrix dead-zone.

Any questions?

I need your tactics for the approach, the drop off and your return (assuming there's anyone left alive for the latter). You can work it out in IC or OOC. Grayson is now an NPC so its Bishop, Bjorn & Kvasac calling the shots. For the most part, the NPC's will agree to any plan that seems reasonable to get Yavanna out.

Hmm, just a small correction. Rex is part of the crew. And uh.. well I'm still here too.

Quick question, is there any way to contact and coordinate with the pilot of the bird before and/or during pick-up?

Like Rex said in IC, I think we should have everyone except Yavanna and Spencer (and perhaps one more person) go to the meeting point 10-15 minutes before time (maybe less, we could scout with drones at -15 min, then move in at -5 or something) and clean the place out. Then have Yavanna and Spencer come in at the last moment under our protection (at the very least hiding behind Rex who'll serve as Troll Shield™).

Finally a quick "Puyallup Street Gangs" check (3 + Int 4) to know more about Ass Hat. I want to weigh on the possibility of contacting them and paying for their protection (so they ignore our activity on their turf) while we're there. It might or not be a good idea to try to deal with these tough guys. Result is 2 successes

Ding-dang it... That's what that little beeping in the back of my brain was....

Remember, mages are tracking Spencer/Yavanna using their samples/stuff, hence they will be centered on them, not on pick up point.

are we sure they can track them?

All intel points to Yes.

Then how do you suggest we change our plan?

I think the current plan works. The astral spotter will be able to see through any disguise or Invis spell that we put up. On the other hand, when the goons with guns arrive, if they see Grayson (as Spencer) they may not look around for the invisible target or target hidden in the van.

We have muscle and combat ability on both sides, so if we lead Yavanna and Spencer to the LZ, then we can lay an ambush for the Vory. We will know when the Ritual Sorcery starts getting close because the dark, foreboding feeling will fall across whoever is being targeted. From there, it will take awhile for the ritual to finish.

I can live with that. However, the goons will be directed toward Spence/Yav who will be 15 minutes away. We should either make an ambush for goons chasing them or make sure that we can arrive on time in case they get intercepted.

No. He is coming silent.

With two hits you know the following:
- They are an ork/troll gang of Hell's Kitchen in the Puyallups
- They are brutally violent, killing on a whim. Psychotic is one word that comes to mind and rumors are that they do actually wear the ass skin of those who cross their path as a hat.
- They are extremely territorial (God only knows why) and occasionally venture out of the God-forsaken turf they claim to raid more 'prosperous' areas.

Sorry guys, it was a crazy 4th of July weekend.

So far the plan looks good to me.

Plan's fine with me too

Everyone take 1 CSP for keeping up good posting. (As a note, I don't see where anyone has spent any karma or CSPs.)

Ok, couple of GM questions:
1) Anyone going with Spencer & Yavanna?
2) Is Black Fist attempting to contact the Ass Hats?
3) Any special tactics for the scouting of the rendezvous point? At this point the only thing I am aware of is the team cautiously approaching the site ahead of time.

Ok, I'll give everyone one more day for any particulars to the plan then tomorrow I'll post up to the initial team moving in.

*poke*
Checks the pulse of the game.... and the players...

Ok Bjorn - You're up.

Just to clarify, Spencer and Yavanna are in Spencer's car 10 minutes behind the team. In about 5 minutes they will begin heading south. The team is still 3.2km from the extraction site.

Yep. I tried to make it clear that when I spoke to Grayson, I called him Spence. Just in case someone was listening in (damn watchers). Spencer is in the car with Yavana, Spence is with us (Grayson in disguise).

Yea, you are g2g with Spencer/Spence. The thought was more the jacket for Yavanna.

PM'ing Bjorn to see if he's still with us.

Just to announce, I'll be AFK from mid August till September.

Hmmm... Ok. As of today, Bjorn is officially MIA. Working up a post.

How about that map I asked earler?
Or can I just post that Jake finds the appropriate place to disembark Rex and Spence?

Give me a day or so to get you a map.

n/p

...or four...

Ok. Been a crazy week. I promise, a few more days and I'll have a map.

Kvasac - Is mid-August the 15th?

Yep. I am leaving on 17th but will probably too busy to post from 15th. You'll have RC of Jake.

13-17th I'll be at Gen Con and doubt you all will hear from me. I am gonna try to get a map up tonight.

Ok. I keep failing to get the map up and Gen Con is rapidly approaching so I am officially putting the game on hold for 10 days, till the 18th; After Gen Con.

RJ--See you in Indy.

Roll Call
---------------------
Carter: BishopMcQ is around
Jake: Kvasac is on vacation
Rex: Gobogen - Are you back?
Blackfist: MIA
Grayson: Retired

I have heard from 3 players recently with one of them currently on an extended vacation. I am voting to put the game on hold until he returns. Is that ok with everyone else? Can we kick this up when he gets back? I REALLY want to complete this run. You all are entering the last scene.

I'll keep an eye on here, but give a shout when Kvasac and Goboen are back.

Roll Call - Update
---------------------
Carter: BishopMcQ - Check
Jake: Kvasac - on vacation
Rex: MIA
Blackfist: MIA
Grayson: Retired

Hey

There's one.

Reporting in...
Just need a day ot two to review previous events...

Welcome back. How was your trip?

Edit: Ok. I owe you guys a map. Will have that out this week-end.

Fun, fun, fun. I even got to perform kata under a waterfall and almost got hammered in in the pebbles bellow it
Also, I'll be changing my job location yet again but it won't influence my posting.

Overview Map: Each mark on the bar running up/down is 1 kilometer. The yellow line across the top is hwy-410. Just south of that is the Quiky Mart where Spencer and Yavana are waiting. The team is currently stopped 3.2km north of the red X. The team is currently outside of Hell's Kitchens, the river alone the right being the natural physical line separating Hell's Kitchens from the rest of the Puyallup Barrens.

Pickup site detail map: Any and all houses are the remains of what was once housing and the cars are simply shelled out vehicles. The T-Bird is due to set down on Pioneer Way just north of the bridge.

Very cool.

Same job though?

More or less the same...

What should I roll to scan for unfriendly air traffic?

You lack radar, but given the near lack of any com signals you should be able to scan for signals.
Scan(3) + Electronic Warfare(2)

This is an extended test, meaning you can roll a number of times up to the dice pool (5) and add all the hits together.

Dibs on his stuff if the mage croaks in astral combat. (Well, armor and guns.) Jake can have any electronics, Rex any melee stuff.

Edit: Or are we not supposed to bet on stuff like that for PCs turned NPCs?

I totally forgot how to do this...need re-reading :(
Let this do for now, my brain is on the shut down..

Fast forwarded a little to pick up the pace. Hopefully we can work through this scene this month!!

The van is actually just north of the pickup site, pulled off of Pioneer Highway onto 136th St Ct E.

Can I id the traffic or are those just random blips flying around?